Welcome to a new academic year.
It is an exciting time to be part of the Cal State Monterey Bay (CSUMB) community.
Our campus continues to grow and to change. In the past year, we have had the unique opportunity to break ground for two major buildings – Academic III, which will house much of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, and the Otter Student Union.
While construction will cause some disruption — and will shift some parking spaces to the perimeter of campus as called for in our campus master plan – the new buildings will allow us to better meet the needs of CSUMB students.
Over the summer, the California Legislature approved a state budget that will more fully fund the CSU’s Graduation Initiative 2025, a comprehensive effort to help more of our students graduate on time. That funding will help us hire more advisors and more tenure-track faculty members, with the goal of continuing to improve our students’ graduation rates.
We pride ourselves on maintaining a supportive campus environment. As our campus continues to evolve and to grow, we will keep the small-campus feel and personalized attention that makes so many students want to attend CSUMB.
As members of this university community, we all need to look out for and to support one another.
Your college years will be fun and exciting — and sometimes stressful. Please keep an eye out for classmates who are having a tough time. Campus Health and Wellness Services offers professional and peer counseling, crisis intervention, spiritual support, and programs on stress reduction, healthy lifestyle choices and other important topics throughout the school year.
Working together, we can continue to make this a great place to live, to work and to learn.
Go Otters!
Eduardo M. Ochoa
President, Cal State Monterey Bay